Five OOTM Teams Advance to State Competition in Binghamton on April 8
Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving competition that teaches students how to think divergently by providing open-ended problems that appeal to a wide range of interests. Students learn how to identify challenges and to think creatively to solve the problems at hand.
Skaneateles Central School teams in Odyssey of the Mind are open to students in grades 3-12, and consist of seven members per team.
By placing first in the Regional Competition, teams are then invited to the NYS Competition.
The State Street team led by Chad Rogers and Kathy Herr consisting of Faith Azzam, Elijah Blades, Owen Herbst, Jack Miller, Oliver Jirousek, Celia Rogers, and Madison Rossi earned first place in Division I with their problem “Catch Us If You Can.”
Another State Street team led by Todd Marshall consisting of Keady Azzam, Tommy Cattalani, Elsa Marshall, Stephanie McClintic, Caroline McSwain, Claire Neumann, and Jonah Williams earned first place in Division I with their problem “It’s Time, OMER.”
A third State Street team led by Corrie Carroll and Kelly Barnes consisting of T. Walker Barnes, Hugh Carroll, Evelyn Buhl, Asher Kosub, Declan Pfau, and Hannah Whipple also earned first place honors in Division I with their problem “Ready, Set, Balsa Wood.”
The Skaneateles Middle School Division II team led by Maureen Ryan consisting of Sami Matthews, Wyatt Thompson, Rose Kosub, Sam Weiss, Marc Vreeland, Yasmin Glazier, and Olivia Rossi claimed top honors with their problem “It’s Time, OMER.”
The fifth and final first place effort came from the Skaneateles High School Division III team led by Kelley McQuiggan and Tami Rigling consisting of Lexie Cottrill, Connor Kenan, Emma Tidd, Marc Sapareto, Devin Churchill, Marissa Reilly, and Alex Moro.
Teams placing first or second in the state level competition will then be invited to take part in the world competition in May at Michigan State University. Since 1982, sixteen Skaneateles teams have advanced to the world competition, with two first place champions.
Three of the remaining five Skaneateles teams finished in the runner-up position for their group, narrowly missing a chance to advance to the state level. A full list of results is below.
The 10 Skaneateles Central School teams (eight from State Street School, one from the Middle School, and one from the High School) were formed in October and have been working on their problems since. Meeting one to two times per week to prepare, solutions for the problems are devised totally by the team members.
Teams are coached by volunteer parents and teachers, but all work is hands-on for kids and hand-off for adults.
Each year Odyssey of the Mind provides a set of problems for teams to take on. This year’s problems are titled “Catch Us If You Can”, “Odd-a-Bot”, “It’s Time, OMER”, “Ready, Set, Balsa, Build”, and “To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger.”
Specific descriptions of the problems can be found online at www.odysseyofthemind.com.
Keep in touch with events and happenings in relation to the Skaneateles Central School District by visiting online at www.skanschools.org or following the district’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Skaneateles.Schools/.
| Name | Problem | Team Name | Div. | Coach |
| DIV. I Teams | State Street Students | |||
| Placed 1st - Moving onto the NYS competition on 4/8/17 in Binghamton | ||||
| Faith Azzam | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Chad Rogers |
| Elijah Blades | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | & Kathy Herr |
| Owen Herbst | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Rogers/Herr |
| Jack Miller | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Rogers/Herr |
| Oliver Jirousek | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Rogers/Herr |
| Celia Rogers | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Rogers/Herr |
| Madison Rossi | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Rogers/Herr |
| Placed 2nd |
||||
| Addison Badami | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Karen Dunphy |
| Carter Corbett | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | and Nicole Harvey |
| Aldo DeBartelo | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Dunphy/Harvey |
| Jack Harvey | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Dunphy/Harvey |
| Elenore Manning | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Dunphy/Harvey |
| Chloe Corbett | Catch Us If You Can | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Dunphy/Harvey |
| Placed 2nd | ||||
| Chloe Alexander | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Christian Bell |
| Parker Bell | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | and Elizabeth Major |
| Devin Eldredge | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Bell/Major |
| Jack Holst | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Bell/Major |
| Owen Leonardis | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Bell/Major |
| Max Major | Odd-A-Bot | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Bell/Major |
| Placed 4th Ella Arroyo |
It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Thomas Andrews |
| Vivian Carroll | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | and Kelly Little |
| Heschel Eidel | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Andrews/Little |
| Alyssa Franciamone | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Andrews/Little |
| Matthew Leonardis | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Andrews/Little |
| Maura Leonardis | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Andrews/Little |
| Nico Moro | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Andrews/Little |
| Placed 1st - Moving onto the NYS competition on 4/8/17 in Binghamton | ||||
| Keady Azzam | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | Todd Marshall | |
| Tommy Cattalani | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Elsa Marshall | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Stephanie McClintic | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Caroline McSwain | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Claire Neumann | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Jonah Williams | It's Time, OMER | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Todd Marshall |
| Placed 1st - Moving onto the NYS competition on 4/8/17 in Binghamton | ||||
| T. Walker Barnes | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Corrie Carroll |
| Hugh Carroll | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | & Kelly Barnes |
| Evelyn Buhl | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Carroll/Barnes |
| Asher Kosub | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Carroll/Barnes |
| Declan Pfau | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Carroll/Barnes |
| Hannah Whipple | Ready, Set, Balsa Wood | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Carroll/Barnes |
| Placed 2nd | ||||
| Regan Barnes | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Jackson Bone | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Graham Bradley | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Ryan Persampieri | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Jake Salzhauer | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Ansley Simmons | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM B | I | Denise Persampieri |
| Placed 6th Torin Bennett |
To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Sandy Scott |
| Megan Charlton | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Sandy Scott |
| Clara Johnson | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Sandy Scott |
| James Lovier | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Sandy Scott |
| Patrick Scott | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | State Street Ele Sch - TM A | I | Sandy Scott |
| DIV. II | Middle School Students | |||
| Placed 1st - Moving onto the NYS competition on 4/8/17 in Binghamton | ||||
| Sami Matthews | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Wyatt Thompson | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Rose Kosub | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Sam Weiss | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Marc Vreeland | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Yasmin Glazier | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| Olivia Rossi | It's Time, OMER | Skaneateles Mid Sch | II | Marueen Ryan |
| DIV. III | High School Students | |||
| Placed 1st - Moving onto the NYS competition on 4/8/17 in Binghamton | ||||
| Lexie Cottrill | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | Kelley McQuiggan |
| Connor Kenan | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | and Tami Rigling |
| Emma Tidd | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | McQuiggan/Rigling |
| Marc Sapareto | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | McQuiggan/Rigling |
| Devin Churchill | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | McQuiggan/Rigling |
| Marissa Reilly | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | McQuiggan/Rigling |
| Alex Moro | To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger | Skaneateles HS | III | McQuiggan/Rigling |
